Matthew Henry Commentary Matthew 9
Matthew Henry Commentary
Matthew 9
Matthew Henry Commentary
Matthew 9
"And he entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven. And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up thy bed, and go up unto thy house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid, and glorified God, who had given such authority unto men." — Matthew 9:1-8 (ASV)
The faith of the paralytic's friends in bringing him to Christ was a strong faith; they firmly believed that Jesus Christ both could and would heal him. A strong faith is not deterred by any obstacles when pressing on toward Christ. It was a humble faith; they brought him to seek Christ's help. It was an active faith. Sin may be pardoned, yet the sickness not removed; the sickness may be removed, yet the sin not pardoned; but if we have the comfort of peace with God, along with the comfort of recovery from sickness, this makes the healing a mercy indeed.
This is no encouragement to sin. If you bring your sins to Jesus Christ as your malady and misery, to be cured of them and delivered from them, that is good; but to come with them as your darlings and delight, thinking you can still hold onto them and receive him, is a gross mistake, a miserable delusion. The great intention of the blessed Jesus in the redemption he accomplished is to separate our hearts from sin. Our Lord Jesus has perfect knowledge of all that we say within ourselves.
There is a great deal of evil in sinful thoughts, which is very offensive to the Lord Jesus. Christ intended to show that his great mission to the world was to save his people from their sins. He turned from disputing with the scribes and spoke healing to the sick man. Not only did he no longer need to be carried on his bed, but he also had the strength to carry it.
God must be glorified in all the power that is given to do good.
"And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him." — Matthew 9:9 (ASV)
Matthew was in his calling, as were the rest of those whom Christ called. As Satan comes with his temptations to the idle, so Christ comes with his calls to those who are employed.
We are all naturally averse to you, O God; bid us to follow you; draw us by your powerful word, and we will run after you. Speak by the word of the Spirit to our hearts; the world cannot hold us down, Satan cannot stop our way, and we will arise and follow you.
A saving change is brought about in the soul by Christ as the author and his word as the means. Neither Matthew's place nor his gains from it could detain him when Christ called him. He left it, and though we find the disciples, who were fishers, occasionally fishing again afterwards, we never again find Matthew at his sinful gain.
"And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners? But when he heard it, he said, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what [this] meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." — Matthew 9:10-13 (ASV)
Some time after his call, Matthew sought to bring his old associates to hear Christ. He knew by experience what the grace of Christ could do, and would not despair concerning them. Those who are effectually brought to Christ, cannot but desire that others also may be brought to him. Those who suppose their souls to be without disease will not welcome the spiritual Physician.
This was the case with the Pharisees; they despised Christ, because they thought themselves whole; but the poor publicans and sinners felt that they needed instruction and amendment. It is easy, and too common, to put the worst constructions on the best words and actions. It may justly be suspected that those have not the grace of God themselves, who are not pleased with others' obtaining it.
Christ's conversing with sinners is here called mercy; for to promote the conversion of souls is the greatest act of mercy. The gospel call is a call to repentance; a call to us to change our minds, and to change our ways. If the children of men had not been sinners, there had been no need for Christ to come among them.
Let us examine whether we have found out our sickness, and have learned to follow the directions of our great Physician.
"Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast. And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made. Neither do [men] put new wine into old wine-skins: else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved." — Matthew 9:14-17 (ASV)
John was at this time in prison. His circumstances, his character, and the nature of the message he was sent to deliver, led those who were particularly attached to him to keep frequent fasts. Christ referred them to John's testimony of Him (John 3:29). Though there is no doubt that Jesus and His disciples lived in a spare and frugal manner, it would be improper for His disciples to fast while they had the comfort of His presence. When He is with them, all is well.
The presence of the sun makes day, and its absence produces night. Our Lord further reminded them of common rules of prudence. It was not customary to take a piece of new, unshrunk cloth to patch an old garment. Such a patch would not integrate well with the soft, old material; instead, it would tear the garment further, making the tear worse. Nor would people put new wine into old leather wineskins, as these were decaying and would likely burst from the wine's fermentation. Instead, new wine was put into strong, new wineskins, so both the wine and the wineskins would be preserved.
Great caution and prudence are necessary so that young converts do not receive gloomy and forbidding ideas about serving our Lord; instead, duties should be urged upon them as they are able to bear them.
"While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and [so did] his disciples. And behold, a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: for she said within herself, If I do but touch his garment, I shall be made whole. But Jesus turning and seeing her said, Daughter, be of good cheer; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus came into the ruler`s house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult, he said, Give place: for the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the crowd was put forth, he entered in, and took her by the hand; and the damsel arose. And the fame hereof went forth into all that land." — Matthew 9:18-26 (ASV)
The death of our relatives should drive us to Christ, who is our life. And it is a high honor for the greatest rulers to serve the Lord Jesus; and those who would receive mercy from Christ must honor him. The variety of methods Christ took in working his miracles was perhaps because of the different mental and emotional states that characterized those who came to him, which He who searches the heart knew perfectly. A poor woman applied herself to Christ and received mercy from him along the way.
If we merely touch, as it were, the hem of Christ's garment by living faith, our worst evils will be healed; there is no other real cure, nor do we need to fear his knowing things that are a grief and burden to us, but which we would not tell to any earthly friend. When Christ entered the ruler's house, he said, Give place. Sometimes, when the sorrow of the world prevails, it is difficult for Christ and his comforts to enter.
The ruler's daughter was really dead, but not so to Christ. The death of the righteous is especially to be regarded as only a sleep. The words and works of Christ may not at first be understood, yet they are not, for that reason, to be despised. The people were put out. Scorners who laugh at what they do not understand are not proper witnesses of the wonderful works of Christ. Dead souls are not raised to spiritual life unless Christ takes them by the hand: it is done in the day of his power.
If this single instance of Christ's raising one newly dead so increased his fame, what will be his glory when all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and come forth; those that have done good to the resurrection of life, and those that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation!
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